However, the criticism turned into an all-out assault against Ryan this week when Breitbart suddenly released an “exclusive” audio clip from an October conference call in which the House speaker can be heard telling fellow Republicans he’d never defend then-Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump ever again.

“I am not going to defend Donald Trump — not now, not in the future,” Ryan purportedly says in the clip.

“Look, you guys know I have real concerns with our nominee,” Ryan said on the call. “… This is going to be a turbulent month. Many of you on this call are facing tough reelections. Some of you are not. But with respect to Donald Trump, I would encourage you to do what you think is best and do what you feel you need to do. Personally, you need to decide what’s best for you. And you all know what’s best for you where you are.”

It’s not yet clear as to who else exactly was on the call with Ryan or if he knew he was being recorded.

Now, as “exclusive” or “never-before-released” the audio clip in question may be, everybody who was following the presidential election race closely knows for a fact that Ryan was never a Trump fan. In fact, he flip-flopped on Trump not once, not twice, but several times.

Even when Ryan officially endorsed Trump as the Republican nominee, he continued to give frustratingly vague answers whenever reporters asked the House speaker about the media mogul’s offensive shenanigans and temper tantrums.

Ryan’s official response to those tapes was disinviting Trump from their first joint campaign event in Wisconsin, saying, “I am sickened by what I heard today. Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified.”

So, it’s not like his reluctance to defend Trump is something that’s not known to people.